[rcocean]

I think you're misunderstanding a lot of people.

Hunter Thompson wrote some very entertaining stuff. He wasn't a great artist and he didn't say anything profound.

His politics were terrible and for the last 25 years he didn't write anything worth reading. Hard to get upset at someone whose political views were so stupid.

See The Bleat (Lileiks) for his take on HST. Its very good.

[A Jovial Cad]

I love Lilek's commentary, and "The Bleat": it's listed in my favorites. But that was NEVER the original point, and has been lost as this thread has degenerated into a flame war. You need to go back and read the original posts that got us here--it was NEVER really about Hunter Thompson, but rather about some isolated FReeper's hair triggers on the old thread flame thrower...

[JCEccles]

Hunter Thompson wrote some very entertaining stuff. He wasn't a great artist and he didn't say anything profound.

That's pretty much how I see it, too.

He wrote in a highly idiosyncratic, era and incident specific style. When his current population of admirers has passed on, he will be read and studied by just a few obscure specialists at the college and university level. Even then, he will be cited in footnotes with greater far frequency than as main text. In the year 2040 and possibly much sooner, "Who was Hunter S. Thompson?" will be the Jeopardy answer that no one will know.